The weather has been incredibly active this week and that does not change this weekend! Get ready for the next round of rain and even some snow. It will be here within a few hours. Let's time out the next round; we will discuss both rainfall and snowfall totals.
High pressure is in control to the north of Ohio, but clouds will hang tough on Saturday. Plan for temperatures in the 40s for most communities. There will be plenty of dry time this afternoon, but it is fleeting. An area of low pressure is moving into the Tennessee River Valley and will continue to push north toward Ohio on Saturday. This will bring widespread rain by this evening.
TIMING: Rain will start in our southern communities first. Plan for the first few light showers by the late afternoon (4-6 pm). Rain will spread north during the evening and become widespread. Between 8-10 pm, everyone looks drenched. This rain will be heavy at times. It looks like we could receive half an inch to one inch of rain tonight and into early on Sunday. Winds will also be increasing this evening and into Sunday. Scroll through the images of Futurecast below to get an idea about the rain's timing and coverage.
Widespread rain will continue overnight and into early on Sunday. Plan for temperatures to remain in the upper 30s to mid-40s early on Sunday. These will be the high temps of the day! Temps will be dropping throughout the day on Sunday.
The coldest air appears to be in our NW communities (near Sandusky, Erie County, and The Islands). Low to mid-30s will be possible there overnight/early Sunday. This will allow rain to change to snow sooner. Most spots will remain all rain or a rain/snow mix for several hours on Sunday - limiting accumulation for many. Eventually, as temps drop to the mid-30s for all of NEO, rain or the wintry mix will change to wet snow. Accumulation is certainly possible, especially on grassy/elevated surfaces. Take it easy on the roads tomorrow. Below, you can see on the Futurecast images when rain is expected to transition to a mix and then all snow. Note that it could take some time on Sunday for everyone to be cold enough to see any snow falling or accumulating! Lake effect snow looks to continue on Monday - especially the first half of the day.
TOTALS: As previously mentioned above, rain totals look pretty impressive tonight. Plan for about half an inch to 1'' of rain. We will be watching for any flooding issues because it has been so wet lately.
In terms of snowfall totals, *MOST* communities should see 2 inches or less, with many areas seeing little to no accumulation, especially farther south near central Ohio. The farther north you live, the better chance you have to see some wet, slushy accumulation. It appears it will take until Sunday afternoon or even the evening for many communities to be cold enough for snow, and this will limit snow accumulation. Isolated
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